- Congo - RDC

Denis Mukwege is a gynaecologist working in the Democratic
Republic of Congo. He and his colleagues have treated about 30,000 rape
victims, developing great expertise in the treatment of serious sexual
injuries. His story includes disturbing accounts of rape as a weapon of
war.

When war broke out, 35 patients in my hospital in Lemera
in Eastern DR Congo were killed in their beds.

I fled to Bukavu, 100km (60 miles) to the north, and started
a hospital made from tents. I built a maternity ward with an operating
theatre. In 1998, everything was destroyed again. So, I started all over
again in 1999.

It was that year that our first rape victim was brought
into the hospital. After being raped, bullets had been fired into her genitals
and thighs.

I thought that was a barbaric act of war, but the real
shock came three months later. Forty-five women came to us with the same
story, they were all saying: "People came into my village and raped
me, tortured me."

Other women came to us with burns. They said that
after they had been raped chemicals had been poured on their genitals.

I started to ask myself what was going on. These weren't
just violent acts of war, but part of a strategy. You had situations where
multiple people were raped at the same time, publicly - a whole village
might be raped during the night. In doing this, they hurt not just the
victims but the whole community, which they force to watch.

The result of this strategy is that people are forced to
flee their villages, abandon their fields, their resources, everything.
It's very effective.

We have a staged system of care for victims. Before I undertake
a big operation we start with a psychological examination. I need to know
if they have enough resilience to withstand surgery.

Then we move to the next stage, which might consist of
an operation or just medical care. And the following stage is socio-economic
care - most of these patients arrive with nothing, no clothes even.

We have to feed them, we have to take care of them. After
we discharge them they will be vulnerable again if they're not able to
sustain their own lives. So we have to assist them on socio-economical
level - for example through helping women develop new skills and putting
girls back in school.

The fourth stage is to assist them on a legal level. Often
the patients know who their assailants were and we have lawyers who help
them bring their cases to court.

In 2011, we witnessed a fall in the number of cases. We
thought perhaps we were approaching the end of the terrible situation for
women in the Congo. But since last year, when the war resumed, cases have
increased again. It's a phenomenon which is linked entirely to the war
situation.

The conflict in DR Congo is not between groups of religious
fanatics. Nor is it a conflict between states. This is a conflict caused
by economic interests - and it is being waged by destroying Congolese women.

"I would have liked to also say, 'I have the honour
of being part of the international community that you represent here,'
but I cannot say that. How can I say this to you - representatives of the
international community - when the international community has shown fear
and a lack of courage during these 16 years in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo?"

They opened the gate and got in
my car, pointing their weapons at me. They got me out of my car and as
one of my guards tried to rescue me they shot him down. He was killed.

I fell down and the attackers continued firing bullets.
I can't really tell you how I survived.

Then they left in my car without taking anything else.

I found out afterwards that my two daughters and their
cousin were at home. They had been made to go into the living room where
the attackers were sitting, waiting for me. During all that time they pointed
their guns, their weapons at my daughters. It was terrible.

I only saw the attackers for just a few seconds and I couldn't
tell who these people were. I also can't say why they attacked me - only
they know.

After the attack, Dr Mukwege fled with his family to
Sweden, then to Brussels, but he was persuaded to return to Congo last
month.

I was inspired to return by the determination of Congolese
women to fight these atrocities.

These women have taken the courage to protest about my
attack to the authorities. They even grouped together to pay for my ticket
home - these are women who do not have anything, they live on less than
a dollar a day.

The
welcoming parade at Kavumu airport, Bukavu, in January

After that gesture, I couldn't really say no. And also,
I am myself determined to help fight these atrocities, this violence.

My life has had to change, since returning. I now live
at the hospital and I take a number of security precautions, so I have
lost some of my freedom.

When I was welcomed back by the women, they told me they
would ensure my security by taking turns to guard me, with groups of 20
women volunteering in shifts, day and night.

They don't have any weapons - they don't have anything.

But it is a form of security to feel so close to the people
you are working with. Their enthusiasm gives me the confidence to continue
my work as usual.